Aerating clothes-washer.



A. PAY.

AERATING CLOTHES WASHER.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.26,1912.

Patented Oct. 27, 1914.

Inventor THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTOJJTH-I, WASHINGTON. D. Cv

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALPHEUS FAY, OF LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, ASSIGNOR T0 J. HENRY BUDDEKE.

AERATING CLOTHES-WASHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 27,1914.

Application filed October 26, 1912. Serial No. 728,003.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALruEUs FAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a certain new and useful Aerating Clothes-Washer, of which the following is a s ieoification.

My invention re ates to washin apparatus, and has for its object the lig itening of the labor of washing clothes and other fabrics, and at the same time lessening the wear and tear on the articles washed.

My invention consists in the parts and in the details of construction and arrangement of parts as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing: Figure l is a perspective view of 'a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line w of Fi Brdadly described, the apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber 1, with a handle 2, the chamber being conical and 0 en at its base. with the handle joining it at t to region of its apex.

The outer conical shell 1 of the chamber 1 has, preferably, a wire-reinforced lower edge or rim 1", and has an upper edge or top consisting of a frustum due to the removal of the apex to admit the handle 2, which upper edge is overlapped by the flanged upper end of a centra tube 1". This tube 1' receives the handle 2; it extends down to a diaphragm 1, inside the shell 1', and, passing through a central opening in the diahragm, has its lower end flanged thereunder. This tube preferably tapers downwardly, and the handle 2 is correspondingly shaped, so that the handle may be wedged into the tube and thus securely held to the shell 1".

The diaphragm 1 extends horizontally across the interior of the shell at about onethird of its height. This diaphragm does not completely fill the circumference of the conical shell in its plane, but is of a shape that may be described as a square, with 1ts corners cut away by arcs. It is in the regions of its peripher defined by these arcs that it is joined to t e shell 1". To facilitate this oining, and to reinforce it, the shell has an annular bead 1", concave inwardly, receiving the arc-shaped edges of the diaphragm. It will be seen that this construction leaves segmental openings 1 alon the straight parts of the edges of the dia iragm, as 1s best seen in Fig. 2.

ltxtending downwardly, perpendicular to the diaphragm are a series of concentric rectangular walls, 1", l and 1, each .with its u per edge secured to the lower side of the c iaphragm 1, as by soldering, and with its lower edge turned up to present a smooth edge downwardly, in manner similar to the downwardly presented edge of the shell 1 itself. These lower edges of the walls may lie even with the lower rim of the shell, or slightly above it. The outermost wall, 1*, hes a proximately in the region of the straig 1t parts of the diaphragm edge, and the parts of the diaphragm in these regions are flan ed down over the outer side of the wall. lurthermore, this outer wall, with its corners meeting the rim of the shell, is cut away upwardly, as may be understood, to conform to the inner surface of the conical shell and he joined tightly therewith. Thus, abox is formed below the diaphragm, contalnlng a series of concentric compartments. Finally, each of the walls 1, 1 and 1 is pierced by a series of holes 1 1", and. 1*, respectively, so that there may be communication between all the compartments and from them up through the segmental openings into the upper region of the shell, a love the diaphragm 1, around the handletube 1. This upper region has a series of openin s 1, about one-third of the way down rom the handle, each of which has a hood 1 over it, on the outside of the shell.

It is through the various openings above described that the commingled air and water escape when the washer is pushed down into the water with its mouth or open base in contact with the fabrics to be washed. The action is such as to produce a series of alternating compressions and expansions of air in the chamber, involving alternate excess of air pressure and vacuum therein. The result is to cause the air to be forced, together with the water, in alternate directions through the fabrics at the mouth of the chamber.

The vacuum created interiorly of the chamber upon attempt to raise the washer vertically from the bottom of its stroke is of such degree that it is necessary to tilt the washer, using the handle 2 as a lever, thus breakin the contact of the lower edges of the was ier with the fabrics to an extent suflicient to relieve the vacuum and allow the raising of'the washer with ease, ready for the next stroke.

An especially beneficial feature of my improvement is the arrangement of the concentric rectangular walls 1 1, and l so that the diagonal of an inner one equals the diameter of the next outer one; i. a, of each two adjacent, the inner one is inscribed in a circle around which the outer one is circumscribed, as indicated bythe dotted circles on the plan view in Fig. 2. This results in causing the edges of the walls to come into intimate physical contact with every particle of the clothes during a succession of rotations of the washer corresponding to a series of up and down operations of it.

The arrangement of thediaphragm, and the circuitous but-unobstructed path of travel of the air and water through the various openings causes effective compression and expansion, and at-the same time serves to comminute the water or other cleansing fluid and thoroughly distribute the soap or other agent used therein,

- .The hoods l over-the holes 1 in the shell lgservetocause upward inward or downward outward currents ofrair and water,.

as the apparatus is manipulated.

The tapered tube 1*, receiving the tapered part. of the handle 2, :serves, by its connection with the apexregio'n of the shell, and- In the, taper, the handle. may, be readily re moved or replaced, even when swelled by the action of the hot fluids, and when in place, it is firmly held, as is necessary for.

thorough and eflicient manipulation of the device.

-Having fully described my invention,

What. I claim as new and desire to secure by 1 ing an open mouth in which said walls present their lower edges, said walls having perforations, and said diaphragm having its portions inside the walls imperforate and having straight sides leaving segmental. openings past the walls inside the inner wall of the conical chamber, and the portion in the conical chamber above the diaphragm having openings to the exterior of the chamber, for the purposes described.

2. An aerating clothes washer comprising a vacuumchamber with curved walls, a diaphragm therein with a straight edge leaving an opening between it and the adjacent curved wall of the chamber, said diaphragm being imperforate, interiorly and said opening leading from below to above said diaphragm in said chamber, and a series of inclosing and inclosed compartment-forming-walls below said diaphragm, said walls having perforations forming communica tion between the compartments formed by the walls, and from them to the opening past thediaphragm.

3. An aerating clothes washer comprising a conical-vacuum chamber, a horizontal diaphragm-therein rigidl'ysecured to the inner sides oft-he conical. vacuum chamber at separate intervals therearound, and a series of rectangular inclosing and inclosed compartmentforming walls belowthe diaphragm, with their upper edges rigidly secured to the; diaphragm and thereby. reinforcing said diaphragm, the outer walls of the series joining the diaphragm in the intervals along its edges between the intervals where the diaphragm is secured 'to the inner sides of the vacuum chamber, and having the parts adjacent to the corners of the walls cut away and fitted to and rigidly secured to said inner sides of the conical vacuum chamber, whereby these outer walls of the series reinforce the structure of the vacuum chamber in addition to reinforcing the diaphragm.

ALPHEUS FAY. -Witnesses CLARENCE PERDEW, CHAS. C. DAVIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtainerkfor five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G. 

